Monday, March 27, 2006

The Virginian Patrick Henry was never so specific. In understanding a sacred text, it is sometimes useful to abstract the axioms and consider how they effect the defined set. One thing that I have seen in terms of significant social changes that was not considered in a government course or discussion is that the right 'for people to be secure in their persons.. against unreasonable searches and seizures' (the Fourth Amendment to our Constitution) has really had the effect of trumping or at least mitigating attempts at governmental controls on behavior. It is perhaps an unacknowledged balance in the 'checks and balances' of our government. No one can remember when any intoxicant was legal, except alcohol, but Ricky Williams can never seem to pass an NFL urine drug screen. Similarly with the 'migrants,' as they are termed in Spanish in Catholic prayers. Can you imagine a police vehicle going 'hooahh, Hooahh' like the Gestapo cars in an old movie, followed by doors crashing and people yelling, 'No somos criminales!' No what happens instead is that they can't file a small claims suit for wages or a contract because they have to have a driver's license, papers, to file the suit. (The 'migrants' are not 'home free.') Perhaps we could unpretzel ourselves slightly were we to allow them to be what they have as an identity for themselves, 'migrants,' and not answer an unasked question re: their immigrant status. Under the protection of the Fourth Amenment, a growing divergence from official policy presents political issues that are not really solvable by the right citizens saying essentially 'I never agreed to this (illegal but de facto permitted by the Fourth Amendment) situation so change it all back.' The Fourth amendment has had the effect, even during 'back alley abortions,' of allowing minorities of people to create facts on the ground independent of the intransigence of the King or, in the view of the nonrespondent, a 'tyranny of the majority.' To refer to my previous post and derivative of the idea of 'tryanny,' these transgressions tend to happen when people do not find nurturing and empathy in the legally allowed situation. Glenn Reynolds brought up this brouhaha.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

This is huge, the finding that children improve in their depression if mother is treated and improves. Augustus John Rush proves an heir to Benjamin Rush, MD, signer of the Declaration of Indepenence, in proving a mechanism of not only independence from psychic pain but toward, in seeing God given inalienable rights, humanity. I think of my favorite psychiatrist joke, which is about our, the psychiatrist's interest, in proving 'You (no, really) hate your mother.' The psychoanalysts, in my understanding, see depression as a regression to the oral sadistic phase, think of the baby with teeth who can bite and hurt the breast. The psyche of the infant is seen as both having and destroying the desired object. Such a mechanism may be explored in the movie Psycho, and why we relate to it. The man keeps his mummified dead mother, no longer able to nurture. He keeps her because he was not able to take life from her but the memory of the hope, ? and guilt, compels. He seeks a new object but treats her like he would have his mother when an unfulfilled infant in sadistically killing her after uncovering her nakedness and having the nurturing breast. The child as we do ambivalently in the movie in identifying with the creepy character feels guilty and thrilled. If mother is really damaged, depressed, we as the infant or child don't know that we didn't do it and feel guilty, regret our sadism, draw back unfulfilled, depressed. Like the religious faithful who are relieved that G-d is not injured, the child is reassured that mother is not injured when he regresses to such a phase. So it is helpful that she is not depressed. But this is an idea, John has presented you with data and you may grow your own elaboration.

On CNN's Sunday show, Wolf Blitzer asked Ahmed C. to 'name the person who failed leading to the present problems in Iraq.' Ahmed said Paul Bremer, 'our procounsul' there for the first year after overthrowing Saddam. Ahmed C. went on to say that his insistence on seeing violent acts as isolated incidents led to a growing insurrection. I ran into someone who had been there who told me that a lot of people died there that you don't hear about. Prominent Republicans got their children a spot on Paul Bremer's staff. Sometimes they would decide to go off on a road trip and not come back. The implication with the juxtaposition of these 2 events is that indeed it was true that there was a 'party line' as it were, which misled these people about the true tactical situation in Iraq. Kissinger asked about Chalabi's statement said that Bremer had worked with him and Bremer would 'never do anything on his own,' which just shows how cleverly Ahmed C. made his statement. In controlling a school, the Jesuits, an heir to consuls, say you have to exert your biggest control beginning the school year. Which just makes the debate about what the Army Chief of Staff said was the proper figure to occupy the country and what really happened to him something of greater interest. Greg Jaffe in Monday's WSJ, some kind of subscription required, had an article on the lessons of counterinsurgency, in part form VN, as the Army is now looking at it which would overlay this discussion.

Update:

Sociology Professor Michael Schwartz points out that Iraq was a statist economy and our shutting them down, refusing to even allow state companies to bid on reconstruction projects, for example, was an act of creative destruction producing the latter without the former. The department chairman over my field liked to quote Napoleon in his aphorism 'Careers for Talents.' It looks like what we needed was someone at or somewhat below the rank, present or retired, of Central Committee, China to manage the transition from a statist to a capitalist economy.

Friday, March 10, 2006

The Dubai ports deal was lost in the establishment reaction to the threat to the Danish cartoonist and newspaper, the declining to publish the cartoons, the murder of a Catholic priest in Turkey. Let me argue by analogy. Several years ago some prisoners were taken, literally, on a field trip, out of prison, a little fresh air, countryside. Six used the occasion to find a wrinkle in security and sneak out in a van. They came to Dallas, stole guns in a daylight robbery of Oshman's, and seeing a policeman drive up, a seemingly quiet, passive guy, earlier a security guard at my hospital, shot him several times in the head and neck, kaput. The guys are on the loose. Looking out of my building one day, you could see 3 police cars in tandem scooting down the highway. To me the police had lost control, the 'bad guys' were in charge a little bit. You wouldn't be surprised that at that time the County Commissioners didn't discover a plan to save taxpayer's money and rehabilitate prisoners by saying they were going to let selected prisoners hire out for the day to work at private homes. Yet, the establishment said 'the Muslims are in control, you can't expect us to speak freely as we usually do, these are they, keep your head down.' And then, shortly thereafter, 'You know what; we've got a business deal, with Muslims, to run a port process on US soil.'

Monday, March 06, 2006

I read that Netanyahu and Sharon had a disagreement, which led to a decision not being taken about a response to Iran's developing nuclear weapon. It seems like here in the U.S. we have devloped a posture of putting our heads in the sand and hoping that if worst comes to worst our butts will only fell a litle toastier than they do now. Maybe I should check the Church calendar and see if there are any novenas for special ops; praying to do something would be a start. Would be curious if Nathalie in Israel has any comments on the aforementoned issue with the Israeli leadership.Update:

The NY Times has a somewhat reassuring article on the Iranian bomb. Maybe the Israelis could, using Saatchi as a go beween, negotiate with Hamas. The basics of the deal would be that Israel could abolish it's name, thus 'ceasing to exist,' and change it's name in Arabic, to 'the Canary in the Coal Mine.' Hamas would accept this as total settlement of all claims, words and pictures being of utmost importance to Allah. I think the canary would be kind of cute on F16s. 'Float like a buttefly; sting like a ..' Ferlinghetti would be so pleased with demonstrations too; 'Death to the canary in the coal mine' could be Gregorian and absurd. Amadinehad saying he is going to 'wipe the canary off the map' has a nice childish touch.

Thursday, March 02, 2006

The word hippie seems to be a conflation of 'on the hip,' referring to the posture of the opium smoker, and the West African Wolof language word 'hipicat' referring to 'someone with their eyes wide open.' Then, positively it would be someone aware of what's going on but also a good description for someone drugged. Is there an etymologist in the house? One with a cool picture and who can also explain 'chick.' Cool. Maybe we can get her to explain more words.